Contemporary
by MidnightOnATuesdayAfternoon
Summary: Meet Emmie, a shy and studious fifth year transfer student at Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Among dealing with a devious teacher with a liking for everything pink and making new friends, what happens when she finds out that her mom has kept something from her, her whole life? GeorgeXOC **I suck at summaries!**


**Hello! I haven't written a Harry Potter Fanfiction in ages, so please bare with me!**

**Disclamer: I do NOT own Harry Potter. That right belongs to J. K. Rowling. I only own the characters I created that were not mention in the original plot and story of the books.**

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Chapter 01 Welcome to Hogwarts

"Tanaka, Emerson." my name was called clearly by a woman dressed in emerald green robes and a pointy hat to match on the top of aging hair that was probably once brown. Her name was McGonnagal, at least that's what I remember her introducing herself as about ten minutes ago outside of the big double doors of the Dining Hall.

This whole sorting thing was rather embarrassing, not only because everyone in the room gets to watch you, a tiny, innocent, eleven-year-old first year, getting sorted into one of the four houses, but what's more embarrassing is when you're a fifteen-year-old transfer student getting sorted among the first years.

I could already hear the murmurs of all the students leaning into the person next to them as they pointed out my walk of shame.

I felt small hands from someone behind me, pushing me forward, making me trip up the small step to the old stool. A few stifled laughs could be heard around the room and I silently whacked myself in the back of the head before turning around to face my future classmates.

I focused on the double doors down the long narrow path between two tables of houses to distract myself of the eyes of the judges and the pounding of my heart in my ears as McGonnagal lowered the battered hat to my head.

A _Tanaka! HA!_

I flinched at the harsh voice.

_I have not sorted a Tanaka in years! Mmmmhh, where to put you? Very smart, astonishingly bright for your age. Ravenclaw would do you good! _

Moments of this morning of my mother telling me of her house of Ravenclaw flashed through my mind, briefly.

_But there's a spark of courage hiding in hindsight that you do not see... Facing a challenge is what you do best._

My eyes were starting to burn as I had forgotten to keep blinking as I stared absentmindedly up at the doors on the far end of the room.

_"_Gryffindor!" the old hat yelled to all that were near.

The table closest to my left were in a roaring frenzy, ecstatic to have a new addition. McGonnagal removed the hat off of my head before I slipped off the stool and slowly stumbled my way over to my new home.

My mind was all over the place. Surely, my mother will be understanding that I'm not into the house she was sorted into as a teen, but I couldn't help the sinking feeling in my stomach of wishing that I could have been.

The rest of the sorting was a blur and the voice of the Headmaster made me jump out of my jumbled thoughts.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" his long white beard was the first thing to be noticed if you've never seen Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Before we start our feast, as I know you are all famished from a long train journey here, I would like to announce that we have a transfer student from America this year! Emerson Tanaka is starting her fifth year and I would only assume that all the students would most certainly give her a helping hand and welcome her with open arms."

I could feel the burning eyes of my new classmates on me, but I tried my best to keep my direction of sight up at the aged headmaster. I could hear a few whispers up and down my house table.

"Now let us feast!"

The whispers were replaced by gasps in a millisecond. I glanced around at those around me to see that there were mounds upon mounds of food in front of us from biscuits to a full roast. None of it was there a few minutes ago but empty places and goblets.

I know I shouldn't be so shocked at how it appeared out of thin air. After all we were all magical beings to begin with, but back in America the food was already placed on the table when we walked in for food.

Although, I had every food imaginable at my fingertips, I opted for just chicken and peas. I wasn't as hungry as one would think they'd be after enduring a long train ride and a nerve wrecking experience in front of hundreds of unfamiliar teenagers.

"I thought my dad was bluffing when he told me about the feast!" a kid not to farther down the table spoke to those around him.

"My sister told me about the enchanted ceiling." a girl pointed up above her, a look of wonder etched on her freckled face.

"I wonder how they do that." the girl next to her said, her head so far leaned back I thought she'd fall backwards from her seat.

"By magic of course!" a boy snickered, flinging his peas at her from across the table with his spoon.

The young girl gave a small shriek before picking peas out from her hair.

I turned away from all the young first years and looked down at the rest of the table where all the older years were sat, conversing with one another about their summer. The whole room was filled with teenage banter, everyone happy to see their school friends after being a way for two months.

It was odd not recognizing people. Usually the first day back at school is surrounded by summer vacations stories with friends and pointing out everyone that grow taller or cut their hair over break. It was even weirder not sitting with Kiera, Clare, and Ashley as we planned our lists for the year.

Our lists were essentially about what we hoped would happen throughout the year. We'd write them down on paper, fold them up and put them in the secret compartment under a loose floor board in our dormitory. Then we'd open them again at the end of the year and see which of them had happened during the past year.

Half of them were ridiculous really. One year Clare wrote down about how she hoped a meteor would crash through the Earths atmosphere and land in Professor Madden's classroom, with or without him in it and just last year she wrote how she hoped Addison McKinley, the most popular girl in our year, would face plant down the stairs during the Winter Ball and show her bum to everyone.

Ashley would always put down how she'd hope to finally get a boyfriend, each year she always failed, but I do hope to get an owl this year from her saying that Mason Clarkson finally confessed. Everyone knows that he has a thing for her, but he won't admit. Ashley doesn't see it, but every time she denies it, you'll see her eyes shoot over to him, hoping.

Kiera and I are the only serious one's who always hope for good grades, strong friendship and wishing that the library would finally stock up on some muggle literature. The last one never seems to come true.

I wish I had paper with me to start my list, but I guess making it my mind will have to do for now.

_Emmie's Perdictions of the School Year Within a New School Itself_

_Good Grades (because at school, education comes first)_

_Mom has to move back to America for her job so that means I'll be back at PIM!_

_Friends._

_Be socialable (see #3)_

_To have read every single book in the library at least twice. (okay, maybe once.)_

"Ron, we're supposed to show the first years where to go!" a girl with brown bushy hair said to a boy with ginger hair.

"Oh yeah!" the boy who was named Ron, jumped up from his seat at the table. "Hey – hey you lot! Midgets!"

"Ron!"

I awkwardly shuffled my way towards them through the crowd of bodies exiting the Hall. Dinner was finally over and now it was time for us all to go retire for the night. "Um, excuse me, I'm not really sure where I have to go."

"Oh, Emerson, isn't it?" the girl stuck out her hand.

"Please, call me Emmie." I shuck her hand, politely.

"It's nice to meet you, Emmie." she kindly smiled. "I'm Hermione and this is Ron – First years! This way please!"

"I'll see you two later." a boy I didn't notice stood up right next to me. As I hurriedly moved back to allow him room to move, I backed up into someone.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I should have looked be –"

"No, you're fine." I heard a deep voice as I frantically turned around to apologize once more. He was much taller than I anticipated when my eyes finally adjusted from whipping around as fast as I did I was looking straight at his shirt which was a nice dark burgundy color might I add. "Up here, love."

I was shocked when I felt a hand lifting my chin upwards. He had bright fiery red hair just like Ron and freckles ran all along the bridge of his nose and lightly dusted his cheeks.

My heart was beating so fast in my chest that I could almost feel the vibration in my ribs. He leaned down, like he was examining my face, his fingers still underneath my chin. Was he going to kiss me? It almost looked like he was, until someone spoke up.

"Leave her alone, George." I backed away, looking down at my feet, trying to calm the beating of my heart and stop my face from reddening even more than it already was.

"Aw, come on, Hermione!"

"Go to the Common Room you two." that was when I noticed there were two of the same person in front of me. Obviously they were twins, but before I could even say anything of it, they both walked away mumbling something about how they had business to do anyway.

Hermione was up in front of the first years, introducing them to their, as well as my own, surroundings. I was astounded to find out that the staircases moved around by themselves, of course it's done by magic, but at PIM there were never moving stairs. Moving paintings and photos, yes, but never stairs. I sure do hope that the walls don't move, because from what I can tell already from this tour up to the Gryffindor Common Room, I am going to get lost very easily in this place. The corridors all look the same!

I stayed behind the group of the short eleven-year-old, who surprisingly weren't as short as I thought they were, now that I can officially examine all of them. I'm pretty sure the kid in front of me is more than 5'5" feet tall.

"So you're a fifth year?" I jumped, tripping over the next step I was supposed to step on. I almost forgot that the red head named Ron was behind me, making sure that none of the first years got lost or were fooling around.

"What, sorry?" I couldn't think of anything to say, even though I knew very well what is question was.

"Dumbledore said you were in fifth year?" he awkwardly ruffled the back of his hair with his hand. I took notice to how his ears were a light shade of pink now.

"Um, yeah." I nodded, looking down at my feet. I was never really good with talking to new people, let alone people in general.

"You're American." he blurted out, finally realizing that my accent wasn't from around here.

"Sort of, I wasn't born in America actually," I started to explained. "I was born in Japan and then my mom and I moved there when I was five."

I don't really know why I was telling him this.

"That's wicked!" he said a little too loudly. A few students in front of us turned around, giving us odd looks. "Do you know any Japanese then?"

"Uhuh, my mom and I frequently converse in Japanese with each other back home."

It was silent between us for a few moments before Ron spoke again. "So, why did you come to England?"

"My mom used to live here when she was little. One day she just woke up and said she wanted to move back I guess." I shrugged, letting out a breath of air. All these stairs were starting to get to me.

I almost rammed into the tall kid in front of me when the whole group came to a stop. I was confused at first until I heard Hermione saying something about a "portrait" and "the Common Room" I couldn't hear the rest of what she was talking about because some girls were giggling away to my right.

Ron shushed them off, saying some rude comment, but it did make them become silent.

The Common Room was a lot cozier than I thought it was going to be and there was a lovely fireplace accompanied by some plush couches. Some upper class men were sitting at a table in the corner, bantering away about their summers, while I guess everyone else decided to go up to their dorms.

Ron clearly didn't want anything to do with showing the first years around because he just kept quiet, yawning every so often as Hermione explained to everyone where the dormitories were located.

"Girls is to your right, boys left." she pointed behind her to two separate staircases.

"And all you boys, don't you even think about trying to sneak up into the girls dormitories!" Ron spoke up for the first time since being in the Dinning Hall. "The staircase will turn into a slide right as you take one step."

There were very few groans from the male part of the group.

Not too long after, all the girls followed Hermione up the girls staircase while the boys followed Ron up the boys.

"McGonnagal told me earlier that you were going to stay in my dormitory." Hermione walked up to me once all the girls found their rooms. "Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone."

She motioned me to follow her down the hall and in through a door that was already open.

The room was reasonably sized with five different dark wooden beds and desks. All the bedding were the same dark scarlet color like the Gryffindor house color. There were already three other girls in the room, each of them putting all their stuff away. One of them was standing on one of the four poster beds, tacking up some quidditch team poster.

"You're the new girl!" the girl standing on her bed grinned once she notice Hermione and me come in. "I'm Gwen!" she jumped off the bed and made her way over to me sticking out her hand.

"Emmie. It's nice to meet you!" I introduced myself, shaking her hand in return.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" she raised her arms above her head, excitedly.

"I honestly don't know how you can be so chippy." a girl said from the other side of the room. She was organizing her collection of makeup, which suddenly reminded me of Clare, who would always do the same thing the exact moment we arrived to our dorm. "I'm Lavender." she waved slightly with her hand, transfixed on organizing her products by size on her desk.

"And I'm Parvati." a girl with very long dark hair introduced from her bed, a magazine open in front of her.

I gave her a smile before I noticed the open bed next to hers with my trunk at the foot of it.

"It's weird not having that bed open." the girl named Lavender said, walking over to my side of the room.

"Why? Hasn't anyone ever used it?" I asked, taking out some of the books I brought from home.

"No, it's been vacant since we were first years." Parvati explained to me, flipping a page in her magazine. "But my sister has slept in it a few times through the years. She's in Ravenclaw."

I nodded, not sure of what to say.

"The Great Gatsby? Is that a muggle book?" Lavender asked, picking up one of the books that I placed on my desk.

"Er, yeah." I rummaged through my trunk for a set of pajamas. "My mom's muggle-born."

"My dad's muggle-born!" Gweyn spoke from her bed. "Hermione is muggle-born, aren't you, Hermione?"

Hermione looked up from her desk blankly, a sheet of paper and a quill in her hand, "Um, yeah." she gave a meek smile and went back to writing, what I assumed was probably a letter to her parents, which reminds me that I should write to my mom.

I was about to go open my trunk again for some parchment, but out of nowhere a wave of exhaustion hit me and I told myself that I'd do it in the morning and decided to get ready for bed.

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**I do apologize if the first chapter was very boring. I'm horrible at starting stories and I do promise to make it more interesting as the story goes on! **

**Please, leave a review on what you think!**

**-H**


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